Future Tour Dates:

Register for this tour by phone (800/328-VENT or 512/328-5221), or by downloading a tour registration form. Signed and completed forms can be faxed, mailed, or scanned and emailed to the VENT office.

Booted Racket-tail— Photo: J. Olah

Ecuador is one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries, and this exceptional natural wealth can be experienced perhaps best through its incredible hummingbird diversity. During this weeklong trip we will be able to observe some 60 different species under the most favorable viewing conditions found anywhere. This tour has been specially designed for hummingbird enthusiasts and photographers and anyone who would like to experience the Neotropics through these spectacular living gems.

On this Hummingbird Extravaganza we will follow an easy transect up and over the eastern and western Andean slopes to revel in a spectacle of color, glitter, and frenzy unlike anything one could ever imagine. This is a world of hummingbirds—these tiny (or not so!) creatures that can fly backwards, sideways, and even upside down, as they feed, battle, and interact with each other at a dizzying pace. We will concentrate on observing and/or photographing as many species of this intriguing family as we can. Ecuador is a hummingbird-rich country that has grown to embrace these birds like no other.

Our journey takes us to a variety of key sites at different elevations along both slopes of the northern Andes, each maintaining wonderful hummingbird feeding stations where we can comfortably watch, compare, and enjoy a wide range of species. We will also take optional walks to explore forest trails and observe flowering plants in search of the few species that don’t visit feeders regularly. This is an opportunity to focus on these marvelous creatures in a very relaxed and easy manner. We will stay at comfortable lodges and visit the most renowned hummingbird localities in northern Ecuador, including the high tundra-like páramo zone along the Papallacta Pass, temperate zone forest at Guango Lodge, Amazonian foothills at Wildsumaco Lodge, elfin temperate forest along the western Andean crest at Yanacocha Reserve, the western subtropical and foothill cloud forests of the Mindo-Milpe area Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, and the Pacific coastal lowlands at Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary.

We can expect as many as (and maybe even beyond) 60 species of hummingbirds! Just a sample of what we may find includes: White-whiskered Hermit; Violet-tailed and Long-tailed sylphs; Black-tailed Trainbearer; Sapphire-vented and Golden-breasted pufflegs; Collared and Brown incas; Buff-winged Starfrontlet; the unimaginable Sword-billed Hummingbird; Great Sapphirewing; Buff-tailed, Chestnut-breasted, and Velvet-purple coronets; Booted Racket-tail; Purple-bibbed Whitetip; Green-crowned, Fawn-breasted, Black-throated, and Empress brilliants; Wire-crested and Green thorntails; White-bellied and Purple-throated woodstars; Fork-tailed and Green-crowned woodnymphs; and Gould’s Jewelfront. This is a perfect itinerary for fanatics, photographers, and even beginners who feel the urge to delve into the world of tropical hummingbirds in a light-paced but “full-on” fashion.